


it’s time we fessed up, this year our prom king will be you

by simplyobsessed



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: AU, Emma is crowned prom king, F/F, alternate prom scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:40:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24279739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplyobsessed/pseuds/simplyobsessed
Summary: What if there was never a plan for Alyssa to come out at prom?
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan
Comments: 6
Kudos: 103





	it’s time we fessed up, this year our prom king will be you

This is it, the moment Emma’s been waiting for. It’s the reason she let her grandmother curl her hair and fuss over her makeup; the reason she’s wearing this mismatched, itchy tux thrifted from a shop in town paired with shoes that are just the slightest bit too big. 

It’s the only reason she’s at this stupid dance in the first place. 

_Senior prom_. 

Alyssa—along with Shelby, Kaylee, and two other girls—line the right side of the stage, while five senior boys stand to the left. Center stage is Mr. Hawkins with two envelopes in hand but Emma doesn’t pay him much attention. Nearly two years of hiding their relationship and she still hasn’t mastered the art of subtlety; Emma’s eyes are glued to her girlfriend. 

But who can blame her? Alyssa is stunning in her prom dress; in a sea of sequins and lace, her pale pink dress stands out for its elegance and simplicity. The dress wasn’t Alyssa’s first choice, her mother having vetoed the purple one she fell in love with, but she still looks beautiful. Even with Greg as her primary accessory. 

How did Emma get so damn lucky?

It’s something she’s been asking herself a lot in recent weeks. Though she couldn’t attend prom _with_ Alyssa—who agreed to Greg’s promposal to appease her mother—she still _has_ Alyssa. In the dark of night, the privacy of the band closet, the comfort of her bedroom; Emma knows their time for hiding is nearing its end and, right now, she’s content in knowing that Alyssa’s heart is hers to hold.

And while it hurts like hell to see her with someone else, never once did Emma considering skipping prom. Not with all the effort Alyssa put into it, between both the planning and campaigning. She refused to miss out on her girlfriend being crowned prom queen their senior year. 

Because, in Emma’s humble and completely unbiased opinion, Alyssa is going to win. 

The second the polls opened, Emma had proudly cast her vote and, judging from the buzz around school, she wasn’t the only one. People adore Alyssa; it’s the one thing Emma has in common with her classmates. While each of the five girls nominated are traditionally attractive, it’s Alyssa’s personality that sets her apart. She’s a genuinely kind, caring human being which, from personal experience, is a lot more than Emma can say for the others. 

In contrast to her own confidence, Alyssa’s nerves are obvious to Emma from halfway across the gym. As Mr. Hawkins continues his speech about tradition and legacy, Alyssa rubs her hands together, eyes darting between her friends on the stage and the crowd in front of her.

Emma subtly shoots Alyssa a thumbs up when her girlfriend spots her, and it’s enough to bring a smile to both of their faces. Emma feels her cheeks flush. 

_There’s Alyssa_. 

Although hiding sucks at times— _most of the time_ —the small moments they share throughout the day have always been special. Notes left in lockers, stolen glances across crowded classrooms, fluke meetups in the bathroom; over time, they’ve developed their own silent language that Emma worries will disappear once they finally escape Edgewater and go public.

Though she’s sure the benefits will far outweigh any losses. 

Mr. Hawkins continues his speech, but Emma is too caught up in her thoughts to hear a word. She fails to notice the many sets of eyes that have fixated on her; the moment with Alyssa has left her smiling, daydreaming about their not-so-distant future together, but it has also left her vulnerable. Around her, phones have made their way out of clutches and jacket pockets, all aimed in her direction and ready to record.

With her guard down, the snickers and hushed comments go unheard as Emma stands by, blissfully unaware. 

Because of this, she fails to realize what’s about to happen until it’s too late. 

_Idiot._

“And your 2019 prom king is,” Mr. Hawkins announces as he tears open the first envelope. “Em-” he starts but catches himself. 

As though he was expecting this to happen, Nick Boomer quickly steps to the microphone from his place among the male nominees. “Emma Nolan,” he says, beaming with pride as he shoots a look over at Kaylee. “Your prom king is Emma Nolan. Nolan, get up here.” 

Suddenly, the whispers are far too loud and Emma can hear nothing but the jeers of her classmates. The lump in her throat is a familiar, yet almost forgotten, sensation. 

In the two years since coming out at school, the bullying has diminished substantially. The first few months were rough but people eventually moved on to the next big thing and Emma faded into the background. Over time, she grew comfortable in her invisibility and that’s now coming back to bite her in the ass. 

Ostracization is one thing; outright harassment and humiliation is something entirely different. 

Heart beating wildly in her chest, Emma closes her eyes and takes several deep breaths to calm herself. There is so much anger, boiling inside her and demanding release, but she refuses to let it win. She hates the thoughts that accompany it, especially the doubt it casts on Alyssa. In her heart, Emma knows her girlfriend would have warned her if she knew, but that morsel of doubt is nagging.

She was on the prom committee. 

Kaylee and Shelby are two of her closest friends. 

But she would have said something, right? 

_Right?_

Regardless, there is a decision to be made and no time to panic. _Everyone is waiting for a reaction_ , Emma tells herself, _they’re waiting for you to cry or run away_. As much as she wants to do either—or both—of those things, Emma refuses to give in. She won’t give them anything to film, nothing they can post online to get a few hundred views and boost their own fragile egos. 

Her classmates voted for her to be their prom king so Emma is going to throw it back in their faces and accept.

She’s going to own it. 

The first step is shaky, the sole of her shoe squeaks against the hardwood floor, but her courage grows with each subsequent stride. Refusing to look at Alyssa for fear of breaking, Emma instead focuses on a very concerned looking Mr. Hawkins as she makes her way from the back of the crowd to the stage. With her head held high, she hopes she’s exuding confidence she doesn’t actually possess as she takes her place next to the principal. 

_Here I am_ , she wants to say. _What now?_

In his defence, Mr. Hawkins tries to defuse the situation but it’s in vain. As the whispers grow, slurs and wolf whistles being thrown around, he resorts to ushering everyone off the stage but Emma refuses to leave. Instead, she moves to grab the crown and sash from the nearby table. 

As she walks past the group of guys, one of them whispers “ _freak_ ” under their breath.

Haphazardly throwing the sash over her shoulder in an act of defiance, Emma returns to Mr. Hawkins’ side. “Make the announcement,” she says through gritted teeth. He doesn’t look convinced, but she gives him a firm nod. “Announce the queen.” 

Shuffling around, the principal looks to the other teachers for any objections before clearing his throat. “And your prom queen is,” he continues, opening the second envelope, “Alyssa Greene.” 

Emma’s head whips to the side, frantically seeking out her girlfriend. Alyssa looks like a deer in headlights, eyes wide as she scans the crowd. Much like Emma, Alyssa doesn’t immediately step forward at the sound of her name. 

And Emma doesn’t blame her.

Alyssa looks so vulnerable, so torn, and it leaves her own stomach in a twisted knot. It’s impossible to know what’s going through her girlfriend’s head but Emma can imagine there’s a lot of fear, anger, and self-doubt mixed in there. To make matters worse, Alyssa’s mother is a volunteer for the prom. It shouldn’t take long for her to catch wind of this and barge into the gym.

It’s only then that Emma feels her eyes burn. Because people wanted to hurt her, Alyssa is the one suffering.

 _It’s not fair._

Guilt consumes Emma as she watches Alyssa’s continued struggle. More than anything, Emma wishes she could walk over and comfort her girlfriend but that would only exacerbate the situation. She feels so damn guilty; guilty for making Hawkins continue, guilty for putting Alyssa in this position. If she had just run off like she wanted to, none of this would be happening and Alyssa would be safe. 

Why did she have to choose this moment to be brave, to stand up for herself? 

Emma decides she needs to do something— _anything—_ to pull focus from her girlfriend: run off, make a scene, start crying, whatever. Give the crowd what they want so, come Monday, it will be her they’re talking about and Alyssa’s involvement will be long forgotten. 

As a plan formulates in Emma’s head, however, she catches movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning to the side, she notices Alyssa’s gaze on her as her girlfriend takes the first few tentative steps.

_“What are you doing?”_

It’s Shelby. There’s a bite to her words but Alyssa doesn’t appear to hear them even though the gym has fallen silent; clearly her peers were not expecting Emma to have someone on her side, especially someone as popular as Alyssa. Meeting her girlfriend centre stage, Alyssa reaches for the crown in Emma’s hands before tucking a few loose strands of short hair behind her ear. At the contact, Emma can feel the tremble of Alyssa’s hand but doesn’t comment as the crown is place atop her head.

Next, Alyssa works to straighten out her ‘Prom King’ sash and Emma finds herself wanting to echo Shelby’s earlier question, but her throat goes dry when she catches Alyssa’s eye. There’s fear in there but also something else—hope, or pride? Whatever it is, it leaves Emma desperately wanting to kiss her girlfriend and she has to grab the queen’s sash and tiara to distract herself. Mindful of Alyssa’s hair, she guides the sash over her shoulder before laying the tiara atop her perfectly curled hair. 

Emma is sure the dorky grin plastered on her girlfriend’s face is a dead match to her own. 

“Hi,” she says with a light chuckle. 

Biting her bottom lip, Alyssa shakes her head. “Hey.” 

And, for a second, Emma feels like any other teenager. Lost in her girlfriend’s gaze, excited to be at prom with Alyssa; it’s stereotypical and cliché, but it’s also everything Emma has ever wanted. 

But she knows it can’t last.

Because where do they go from here? 

Suddenly aware that she’s standing in front of the majority of the graduating class wearing a stupid crown and an even stupider grin, Emma awkwardly fumbles with her sash as her eyes dart away from Alyssa. It’s a sobering realization, reeling her in from the fantasy world as she crash-lands in reality. 

Alyssa is still standing in front of her, still smiling wide, but Emma knows what needs to happen next. They have to go their separate ways, avoid each other for the rest of the night and the rest of the semester; everything will go back to the way it was five minutes ago, when the school thought they were nothing but strangers. 

Having a taste of what _could be_ , Emma finds herself reluctant to let Alyssa go. It hurts, knowing they can still have each other in the dark but will need to take even more care to avoid each other in public. Emma’s not an idiot, she fully expects the bullying to return in full force after this incident. She’s going to be on everyone’s radar once again; maybe that means no more shared looks, no more band closet meetups. With just a few weeks of classes remaining, Emma is willing to take whatever precautions necessary to protect Alyssa. 

Whispering a quick “thank you,” Emma gives Alyssa a nod she hopes conveys her gratitude before making a move to step off the stage. Bite the bullet, rip off the band-aid; get out of there before she screws this up even more. 

But then Emma gets the biggest surprise of the night.

As a slow song starts, she feels a hand on her shoulder. Scrunching her face in confusion, Emma turns around to find Alyssa looking at her with a sly smile on her face. Before Emma can process what’s happening, Alyssa has already taken her hand and is guiding them both from the stage and on to the makeshift dance floor.

Emma’s eyes never leave Alyssa and, because of this, she ends up tripping over the last step. Though she braces for impact, she never hits the floor as Alyssa is quick to steady her. Sheepishly, Emma ducks her head.

As the song builds, Alyssa’s hand comes to rest on Emma’s shoulder, the other wrapping around her arm to pull them together. She begins to sway them gently and Emma assumes she’s still in shock because it takes a moment for her to understand what’s happening, but Alyssa never falters.

“You’re sure?” she eventually asks, her voice wavering. 

Because it terrifies Emma, how much she truly wants this. As much as she would hate for this moment to end, it would be worse to later find out that Alyssa regretted her decision. The scene on the stage could be explained away. Everybody already knows how nice Alyssa is; to say she felt bad for Emma, that she didn’t want to leave the girl standing there alone, would be entirely believable. Accepting the title of prom queen confirmed nothing. 

Slow dancing with the school's resident lesbian, however, that could raise a few eyebrows. Especially considering how closely they’re currently dancing. 

As if on cue, Mrs. Greene pops out of the crowd. Emma visibly deflates and instinctively pulls back from her girlfriend. _“Alyssa,”_ Mrs. Greene calls, arms folded across her chest and a stern look on her face. 

“Not now, mom,” Alyssa says, brushing off her mother as she draws Emma even closer than before. Emma still feels uncomfortable, knowing Mrs. Greene is right there, and Alyssa must sense that. “I just want to dance with you,” she whispers, placing a hand under Emma’s chin to get her full attention, “that’s all I’ve ever wanted.” 

And that’s something Emma can believe. She melts against Alyssa’s body as they continue their dance, the rest of the world fading into the background. 

“You look very handsome tonight,” Alyssa compliments, running her fingers along the collar of Emma’s shirt. 

Shaking her head, Emma blushes. “It looked a lot better in the shop. Obviously, it was made for a man. Even with gran’s sewing skills, there was only so much she could do. It still feels boxy and awkward.” 

“Well I think you look amazing,” Alyssa smiles, placing a gentle kiss on the corner of her girlfriend’s mouth, “this really suits you.” 

“But it’s a tux,” Emma deadpans, but isn’t able to fight off her smile. “You’re one to talk. You’re stunning.” 

Despite the heels giving Alyssa the slightest height advantage, she still manages to rest her head on the familiar plain of her girlfriend’s shoulder and lets out a content sigh. The action leaves Emma beaming. It feels so comfortable, so them. While it may be their first time in public, the press of Alyssa's body against hers is a familiar comfort that Emma could never tire of. It’s grounding and it’s reassuring, letting her know that Alyssa is right here. She can only hope Alyssa feels the same way, that she’s drawing some comfort from Emma, because this is all about her.

Because Alyssa is dancing with her.

Because Alyssa just kissed her.

Because Alyssa is coming out.

 _Holy shit._

It’s something they’ve talked about extensively, Alyssa mostly using Emma as a sound board to bounce ideas off with Emma giving her two cents when appropriate. Together, they’ve watched nearly every coming out video on YouTube and read countless blogs on the topic.

But, of all the times they’ve had this conversation, of the various ways Alyssa has considered telling her friends and family, never once did she mention something so public. Primarily because of her mother, Emma assumed Alyssa would always be more conservative with her sexuality and relationships, that she would confide in those closest to her while telling everyone else to mind their own business.

This, however, is not low-key but while they didn’t choose the moment, prom is sort of the perfect place for this to happen. 

And this is definitely happening. 

_How is this happening?_

Ignoring her racing thoughts, Emma chooses instead to bask in the present. Unsurprisingly, no other couples join them on the dance floor but that doesn’t deter either girl. Emma ignores the crowd, focusing solely on the girl in her arms and the beating of her own heart. When the song ends, it’s possible that shit will hit the fan; once the dance is over and everyone has had their chance to gawk, there will be comments and questions and maybe even some fists. 

But this moment is theirs and theirs alone, so Emma vows to enjoy her girlfriend while she can. There is so much left unsaid, so many details to work out, but this is neither the time nor place. Being together, in public for the first time; it’s far more overwhelming and emotional than Emma anticipated but it’s also freeing.

Thankfully, Mrs. Greene doesn’t try to interrupt again after being repeatedly ignored by her daughter, so the couple is able to finish their dance in a comfortable silence. As the song draws to a close, Emma eyes slip shut and she switches positions so she is hugging Alyssa. Completely in awe of the woman in her arms—her bravery and compassion, her big heart and endless tenacity. It’s overwhelming to think she gets to hold Alyssa in public.

“Thank you,” Emma whispers into her ear, placing a kiss to the exposed skin. 

Alyssa pulls back, teary eyed but grinning widely. “No,” she shakes her head, “thank you, Emma. For standing by me, for sticking around no matter what shit I pulled you into. Without you, I never would have been honest with anyone, myself included. You taught me what it means to be brave.” 

Emma smiles as Alyssa presses a kiss to her forehead. “So cheesy,” she chuckles, “but I love you anyway.” 

“And I love you.” 

The last note of the song fades out, immediately followed by an upbeat pop song that has students storming the dance floor. Neither girl is ready to let go, but Emma is still overwhelmed and needs time to compose herself. Sensing this, Alyssa places a hand on her back and guides them towards the slightly less crowded back-end of the gym. Emma's eyes skirt around as she walks, feeling self-conscious among the horde of students. She's still worried—about Alyssa, about the reaction of her classmates, about what comes next—but, at least for the time being, everything seems to be okay. 

They danced together and nothing changed.

_Except for everything._

But Alyssa is still smiling, and that's all that really matters. 

“I have to find my mom,” Alyssa says once they're away from the crowd. “I owe her an explanation and should probably do some damage control before she comes looking for you.” 

Emma fakes a laugh, but her paling face reveals her true terror. Although she’s never officially met Mrs. Greene, from Alyssa’s stories she knows enough to fear being on her bad side. 

“You’ll be okay?” Alyssa asks, to which Emma responds with a nod. It feels like she should be the one asking that question. 

“Meet you in the band closet?” Emma suggests, but Alyssa is quick to shake her head. Placing a hand behind Emma’s head, she pulls her girlfriend in for a kiss. It’s chaste, lasting all of a few seconds, but both girls are breathless as they break apart. 

“Stick around here,” Alyssa says, “I’m not finished dancing with you.” 

And, with another quick peck to her lips, Alyssa is off to find her mother and Emma is left alone. There are definitely more eyes on her now, but Emma's sure that has a lot more to do with the fact that Alyssa Greene just laid one on her in the middle of the gym than the prom king thing. They don't look mad or disgusted, only interested, and even Greg shoots her a shy smile when Emma catches his eye; from the relieved look on his face, she has to consider the truth behind Alyssa's speculations of his own sexuality. The only people who look outright angry are Kaylee and Nick, but Emma couldn't be bothered to care.

Because she just danced with Alyssa, she danced with her girlfriend at their senior prom. 

Her girlfriend, Alyssa Greene. 

And they get to dance again.

**Author's Note:**

> Subconsciously, I think this was inspired by an episode of Glee.


End file.
